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Record closed July 30, 2026
Affects public lands

Stop new triumphal arch from altering Memorial Circle

Triumphal Arch at Memorial Circle

National Park Service· George Washington Memorial Parkway, Memorial CircleNPS Planning (PEPC) project page ↗

NPS PEPCWe track this on the agency’s own system of record, where most on-the-ground decisions live.

A new monumental arch would permanently change a historic parkway landscape near Washington, D.C.

What’s at risk

The historic character of Memorial Circle and the George Washington Memorial Parkway is at risk. Construction of a large new arch could alter a carefully designed historic landscape that has existed for generations.

If this goes through

A permanent triumphal arch will be built at Memorial Circle, irreversibly changing the historic design of one of the country's most significant memorial parkways.

Our plain-English read of the official notice ↗. Check it against the agency’s own words below.

4 holes in the agency’s own analysis

What the public could have raised, from the agency’s own document

  • I oppose this action as proposed, and I ask the agency to weigh the specific harms below.
  • The National Park Service must fully assess how constructing a Triumphal Arch at Memorial Circle would affect the historic character of the George Washington Memorial Parkway before any construction begins.
  • Memorial Circle sits within a historic designed landscape, and adding a new monumental structure risks permanently altering that landscape's cultural and architectural integrity.
  • The Section 106 review under the National Historic Preservation Act must rigorously evaluate all adverse effects on historic properties at this site, not simply clear the way for a predetermined outcome.
  • I oppose approving the Draft Programmatic Agreement until the public has had a full opportunity to understand how this Triumphal Arch would change the George Washington Memorial Parkway.
Show all 6 points from the document
  • Say something only you can say. The law requires the agency to consider and respond to substantive comments, and specifics are what make a comment substantive.

In the agency’s own words

Triumphal Arch - Section 106 Assessment of Effect and Draft Programmatic Agreement

NPS Planning (PEPC) project page ↗

The reporting behind this

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